LVGEA names new CEO
The Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance announced Tuesday that former Southern Nevada transportation boss Tina Quigley will be the organization’s new president and CEO.
Quigley, the group’s first female chief executive, most recently served as CEO of the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada. She will replace Jonas Peterson, who announced in October that he was stepping down after eight years as LVGEA’s CEO.
Quigley will begin her new job on Monday.
“With nearly 30 years of experience in driving meaningful multi-agency collaborative initiatives, Tina is well-equipped to lead LVGEA,” Betsy Fretwell, chairwoman of the LVGEA 50 Board of Directors, said in a news release. “We believe her strong executive skills and extensive community relationships will assist LVGEA in expanding regional partnerships and diversifying industry in the region.”
Quigley will take over the group’s day-to-day operations which includes overseeing a staff of more than 15 external vendors and working with partners to drive economic growth and development in Southern Nevada.
Quigley retired from the RTC in 2019 after 14 years with the transportation agency. Before that, she spent 15 years working at Harry Reid International Airport. After leaving the RTC, Quigley had a brief 4-month stint with Virgin Trains, a company that was previously involved in building a high-speed train between Las Vegas and Victorville.
In an interview Tuesday, Quigley said her experience at the RTC allowed her to get involved in regional issues beyond just transportation, noting the RTC’s role in helping administer Southern Nevada Strong, a collaborative effort between numerous regional partners to look at issues in Southern Nevada that need strengthening.
Quigley said she is looking forward to working with the board to come up with a strategic plan for the LVGEA’s next 10 years. She said its future must be focused on the region working together to position itself as strong contenders for grants and attracting the LVGEA’s target industries, which includes advanced manufacturing, clean technologies, business and financial services, creative industries, transportation and health care, among others.
“Economic development for us is going to mean collaboration in a way that we have not necessarily had to do in the past,” Quigley said. “In order to bring in some of our most important target industries, we’re going to have to have a strategy to offer development-ready land that reduces the barriers establishing and growing businesses.”
The LVGEA is a private-public partnership that works with the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and other state partners to attract and recruit new businesses to Southern Nevada as well as expand existing businesses, with a focus on preparing those companies to be approved for state tax incentives.
Contact Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ColtonLochhead on Twitter.